Final Data Story

Authors

Marion Bauman

Matt Carswell

Thomas Sigall

Patricia Schenfeld

Published

April 23, 2024

Introduction

Starting in 2022, a breakout social media trend started the rise of a troubling trend: teenagers stealing cars for fun. The trend, started by the alleged “Kia Boys,” spread on the social media platform TikTok, where teenage boys posted videos of themselves stealing cars to take them on joyrides (Arango and Fortin 2023). Often, these videos included step-by-step instructions on how to steal a car, and many of the cars stolen were Kia and Hyundai models. Videos show an easy trick that that involves just a screw driver and a USB cord to start the car in less than a minute due to a software error (Manjoo 2023). In Figure 1, we see a significant increase in Google searches for “Kia Boys”, “Hyundai Theft”, and “Kia Theft” starting in 2022 and continuing through today.

Total US Car Thefts

Figure 2

Figure 2

Kia Hyundai Thefts in the US

Figure 3

Figure 3

Car Thefts in DC

Figure 4

Figure 4

Car Thefts in DC

  • Zoom in to DC area

Figure 5

Figure 5
  • Add in map of kia/hyundai thefts over time - link these two maps to each other with a time slider

  • Show different view of this data to emphasize increase in both car thefts and kia/hyundai thefts

Arrests in DC

  • Visualize top arrests in DC for adults and juveniles

  • Visualize car theft arrests in DC over time

Car Thefts and Arrests by Make in DC

  • Bring arrests, car thefts, and car thefts by make together into one visualization

Conclusion

Arango, Tim, and Jacey Fortin. 2023. “Teens Are Stealing More Cars. They Learn How on Social Media.” The New York Times, March. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/us/car-thefts-kia-challenge-tiktok.html.
Manjoo, Farhad. 2023. “Kia and Hyundai Helped Enable a Crime Wave. They Should Pay for It.” The New York Times, September. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/opinion/kia-hyundai-tiktok.html.